Welcome, friends. In order to follow this service, consider all words in bold type to be spoken by the pastor of the St. Thomas Community Church, the Reverend J. Wright. All words in italic type should be spoken aloud by you. You will also need a small glass of wine, grape juice, or water; a small piece of bread or a cracker; and your Bible.

The Peace

Peace to you, friends, and blessings in the name of Christ our Lord.

And also with your spirit.

Collect

Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid; Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love You, and worthily magnify Your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen

Hear what our Lord Jesus Christ said:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it; You shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.

Lord have mercy upon us,Christ have mercy upon us,Lord have mercy upon us.

O almighty Lord and everlasting God, we ask You to direct, sanctify, and govern both our hearts and our bodies in the ways of Your laws, and in the works of Your commandments; that through Your most mighty protection both here and ever we may be preserved in body and soul; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.Amen.

The Lord be with you.

And with your spirit.

Let us pray:

Collect for the Week

O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

Psalm

Psalm 68:1-20. Exsurgat Deus. "Let God arise..."

The Epistle

1 John 5:9-15
If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son. Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts. Those who do not believe in God have made him a liar by not believing in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son. And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

And this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him.

The Gospel

Glory be to You, O Lord

John 17:11b-19

Jesus prayed for his disciples, saying, "Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth."

Praise be to You, O Christ.

Statement of Faith

Please join me in reciting the Apostles' Creed:

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and buried. He descended into Hell. On the third day, he rose again from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits on the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from where He will return again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Christian Church, the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

This Week in the History of Christianity

Sunday is the day of St. Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. Monday commemorates St. Boniface, the eighth-century archbishop of Mainz and the apostle of Germany. Tuesday is the feast day of St. Norbert, who founded the Premonstratensian monastic order.

The Offertory

To do good, and to distribute, forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.. (Heb. 6:10).

Let us pray for the whole state of Christ's Church:

Almighty and everliving God, who by Your holy Apostle has taught us to make prayers, and supplications, and to give thanks for all men, we humbly ask you most mercifully to accept our prayers, and to receive these our prayers, which we offer to Your Divine Majesty. We ask You to inspire Your Universal Church with the spirit of truth, unity, and concord, and grant that all those who do confess Your Holy Name may agree in the truth of Your holy Word, and live in unity and godly love. Grant this, O Father, for Jesus Christ's sake, our Saviour. Amen.

General Confession

You who do truly and earnestly repent of your sins, and are in love and charity with your neighbours, and intend to live a new life, following the commandments of God, and walking from henceforth in His holy ways, make your humble confession to Almighty God:Almighty God, Father of Heaven, Judge of all men, we confess that we have sinned against You, in words, thoughts, and actions, in the things we have done, and those which we have failed to do, and we are truly sorry for these misdeeds. Have mercy upon us, most merciful Father, forgive us all that is past and grant that we may ever hereafter serve and please You in the newness of life, to the honour and glory of your Name, through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

May the Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who in His great mercy has promised forgiveness of sins to all those who with true faith turn to Him, have mercy upon you, forgive you your sins, and bring you to everlasting life. Amen.

Hear what comfortable words our Saviour Christ said to all who truly turn to Him:

Come to me, all you who travail and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you.

So God loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son to the end that all that believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to our Lord God.

It is right to give Him praise and thanks.

Because in the Mystery of the Word made flesh, You have caused a new light to shine in our hearts, to give the knowledge of Your glory in the face of Your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, we praise You and magnify Your glorious name, saying:

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth are full of Your glory: Glory be to You, O Lord Most High. Amen.

The Authorization

At this time, as an ordained minister of the Christian Church, I hereby authorize you to act in my place in the blessing of the Bread and Blood of the Communion, through Christ the Lord, who with the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns in heaven with God the Father Almighty. Amen.

All glory to You, Almighty God, our heavenly Father, for that You, in Your tender mercy, did give Your only Son Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the cross for our redemption, who made there a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world, and did institute, and in His holy Gospel command us to continue, a perpetual memory of that His precious death and sacrifice, until His Second Coming:

For in the night in which he was betrayed, (hold your bread or cracker in your hand), he took bread, and when he had given thanks, (break the bread in half), he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying "Take, eat," (lay your hands on all the bread), "this is my Body, which is given for you, Do this in remembrance of me." Likewise, after supper, (pick up your glass of wine or other liquid), he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying "Drink you all of this, for this is my blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for you, and for many, for the remission of sins. Do this as often as you shall drink it, in remembrance of me."

The Oblation

Wherefore, O Lord and heavenly Father, according to the institution of Your dearly beloved Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, we, Your humble servants, do celebrate and make here before Your Divine Majesty, with these Your holy gifts, which we now offer to You, the memorial Your Son has commanded us to make, having in remembrance His blessed passion and precious death, His mighty resurrection and glorious ascension, rendering to You most hearty thanks for the innumberable benefits given to us by the same.

The Invocation

And we most humbly beseech You, O merciful Father, to hear us, and in Your almighty goodness to bless and sanctify, with Your Word and Holy Spirit, these Your gifts and creatures of blood and wine, that we, receiving them according to Your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ's holy institution, in remembrance of His death and passion, may be partakers of His most blessed Body and Blood.

And we earnestly desire Your fatherly goodness, mercifully to accept this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving; most humbly asking You to grant that, by the merits of Your Son Jesus Christ, and that through faith in His blood, we, and all Your whole Church, may obtain remission of our sins, and all other benefits of His passion. And here we offer and present to You, O Lord, our selves, our souls and our bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice to You, humbly asking You that we may worthily receive the most precious Body and Blood of Your Son Jesus Christ, be filled with Your grace and heavenly blessing. We ask this of You, through Christ our Lord, in unity with the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns with You in heaven, world everlasting. Amen.

The Lord's Prayer

Let us pray:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.Amen.

The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was given for you, preserve your body and soul to everlasting life. Take and eat this in remembrance that Christ died for you, and feed on Him in your heart by faith, with thanksgiving.

(Take and eat the bread).

The Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was shed for you, preserve your body and soul to everlasting life. Drink this in remembrance that Christ's Blood was shed for you, and be thankful.

(Take and drink the wine or wine-substitute).

Let us pray:

Almighty and everliving God, we most heartily thank You, for that You have given to feed us who have duly received these holy mysteries, with the spiritual food of the most precious Body and Blood of Your Son our Lord Jesus Christ, and do assure us thereby of Your favour and goodness toward us, and we humbly ask You, O heavenly Father, to assist us with Your grace so that we may continue in holiness and do all such good works as You have prepared for us to walk in, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who, with the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns with You in honour and glory, world without end. Amen.

Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace and goodwill to men. We praise You and give You thanks for Your great glory, O Lord, King of Heaven, God the Father Almighty.

O Jesus, Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, receive this our prayer.

The Peace of God be with you, and all blessings of God Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be with you and remain with you always.Amen.